In the prior art, various devices and apparatus have been proposed for controlling the operation of a sliding door. U.S. Pat. No. 4,541,202 to Dockery discloses a sliding door operator which comprises a tubular housing adapted to receive first and second elongated bars in a spaced apart and parallel arrangement. Both bars include a gear-toothed rack engaged by a single motor driven gear. The operator is mounted near the bottom of the door with the bars cooperating with the rack for sliding door operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,582 to Cropley discloses another type of electric door opener for sliding doors. In this patent, the electric operator comprises a motor having an iron cooling flywheel disposed on a drive shaft thereof, the flywheel being provided for imparting a predetermined amount of inertia for starting and stopping of the motor such that the operation of the motor is characterized by a soft start and stop. Means are provided for coupling rotation of the drive shaft to linear movement of the sliding door along its track.
The prior art has also proposed remote control mechanism for sliding doors. U.S. Pat. No. 3,735,531 to Kramer discloses a sliding door which is closed by a reversible power-driven slide. The sliding door is controlled by a remote control mechanism.
Although the prior art has proposed various sliding door mechanisms, many of these designs are overly complex and not conducive to use in a sliding door for home use. Many of the prior art designs are not compatible with residential door designs and cannot easily be hidden or used in conjunction with a particular room decor. In addition, since these prior art devices are not readily adaptable for residential use, there lacks an apparatus or device which can facilitate opening and closing of a sliding door which can be used by an invalid or elderly person who cannot readily get up and open or close the door for a given need such as letting a pet in or out of the house.
In view of the disadvantages of the prior art devices related to sliding doors noted above, a need has developed to provide an improved sliding door operator which is adaptable for residential door use, can be easily blended with a room's decor and can be used by an elderly person or invalid.
Responsive to this need, the present invention provides a sliding door opener which is easily masked by a valance, curtain or the like, is simplistic and efficient in its design and can be operated by remote control.